Riding the Win Streak
No. 6 UC Santa Barbara (5-0, 0-0) impressed last weekend, going undefeated at the Inland Empire Invite. Defeating Whittier, University of Redlands and Claremont Mudd-Scripps last weekend, UCSB is looking to add more wins to its record this weekend at the competitive Nor Cal Tournament in Berkeley, Calif.

It will be no easy task as the tournament is filled with the top programs within the Mountain Pacific Sports Federation.

The Gauchos will start the tournament against No. 10 UC San Diego (4-3) at 9:25 a.m. at Spieker Pool. If the Gauchos defeat the Tritons, the team will then prepare to face off against the winner between No. 2 UCLA (7-0) and Concordia (5-0). If the Gauchos lose against UCSD, the team will face off against the loser of the same contest.

Follow the Leader
Senior Matt Gronow had a productive weekend, leading the team with 13 goals during the Inland Empire Invite. Along with his impressive amount of goals, Gronow shared the wealth, dishing out eight assists over the three games. For the season, junior Derek Shoemaker is racking up the goals with a total of 18 thus far. Fellow juniors Bryce Miller and Eric Van de Mortel are also showing their offensive talents with Miller scoring 12 goals and Van de Mortel netting 10.

Leader in the Cage
Sophomore goalkeeper Chris Whitelegge leads all keepers with 43 saves during the first five games of the season. Whitelegge has also posted two assists and three steals to go with his solid number of saves. UCSB has a good crop of young goalkeepers such as freshmen Kyle Garwick, Liam Lenihan and junior Jay Lovero who have all had valuable playing time.

The Competition is On
The Nor Cal Tournament will be the first glance at the top teams in the nation as all the MPSF programs are looking to take the title to their respective campus. The tournament will have four brackets with Group A consisting of No. 1 USC, No. 8 UC Irvine, No. 9 Pepperdine and Diablo Valley College. Group B will consist of No. 2 UCLA, No. 6 UCSB, No. 10 UC San Diego and Concordia while Group C is compiled of No. 3 CAL, No. 7 Long Beach State, No. 11 Loyola Marymount and No. 20 Air Force. Last, Group D will have No. 4 Pacific, No. 5 Stanford, No. 13 UC Davis and No. 16 Santa Clara.

What Lies Ahead
After the completion of the Nor Cal Tournament, the Gauchos will continue on the road next Friday and Saturday. On Friday, Sep. 27, UCSB will face off against Cal Lutheran at noon and then play against Concordia at 6 p.m. The Gauchos will then have two games on Saturday, Sep. 28 as the team will be slated to face off against UC San Diego at noon and Navy at 5 p.m.